He enlisted in the USAAF on 6 May 1942 at Fort Jay, Governors Island. On 25 January 1944, a B-24D, # 41-23889 (converted to ferry passengers and cargo – Sgt. Pennisi was a passenger), departed Chabua, India, at 7:40 a.m., to fly to Kunming, China. At 10:45 a.m., over the Himalayas, the formation of five B-24Ds “was forced to break up due to extreme instrument weather conditions.” All five aircraft crashed; B-24D, # 41-23889, near Jorhat, India. Crews parachuted from two and a third, which crashed, had two survivors. The fourth and fifth, “Hot as Hell” and “Haley’s Comet,” disappeared, the crews presumed dead (Tara Copp, Stars & Stripes, 8 Apr 2016).

On registration for the WW II draft in 1942, he described himself as 6’, 165 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes. He enlisted 9 July 1942 in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. He went overseas in November 1943. On 25 January 1944, a B-24D, # 41-23889 (converted to ferry passengers and cargo – Cpl. Zobb was a passenger), departed Chabua, India, at 7:40 a.m., to fly to Kunming, China. At 10:45 a.m., over the Himalayas, the formation of five B-24Ds “was forced to break up due to extreme instrument weather conditions.” All five aircraft crashed; B-24D, # 41-23889, near Jorhat, India. Crews parachuted from two and a third, which crashed, had two survivors. The fourth and fifth, “Hot as Hell” and “Haley’s Comet,” disappeared, the crews presumed dead (Tara Copp, Stars & Stripes, 8 Apr 2016). After recovery of his remains by Graves Registration, his remains were returned to the U.S., where he was buried 7 April 1949 (Plot M, Grave 10265) in the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.